Canada Khalsa Day Parade: India condemns Khalistani group's protest against PM Modi

The GTA town of Malton hosted the Khalsa Day procession, during which people waved Khalistan flags and yelled separatist chants. (Image: Reuters)

India condemned Canadian pro-Khalistan demonstrators for putting an effigy of Prime Minister Narendra Modi in chains on display during a march on May 7, reported The Hindustan Times.

India also demanded that the Justin Trudeau administration cease giving criminal and separatist groups "safe haven and political space" on Canadian soil.

The GTA town of Malton hosted the Khalsa Day procession, during which people waved Khalistan flags and yelled separatist chants, the report said.

Canadian Prime Minister Trudeau said on May 4 that Canada was "a rule-of-law country with a strong and independent justice system, as well as a fundamental commitment to protecting all its citizens". This statement was used to promote the display by the secessionist outfit Sikhs for Justice (SFJ), the report said.

New Delhi expressed concerns about the safety of Indian diplomats in Canada once again and stated that Ottawa should make sure they can perform their duties without fear.

Tuesday's event came as yet another blow to the bilateral relations of the two nations that came under strain last year when Trudeau claimed that operatives of the Indian government were responsible for the assassination of a Khalistani leader in Canada, reported HT.

A spokesman for the external affairs ministry, Randhir Jaiswal, responded to an inquiry on the float in the Malton parade by saying that India has frequently expressed its serious concerns over the "violent imagery" employed by extremist forces in Canada against the nation's democratic leadership.

“We again call upon the government of Canada to stop providing criminal and secessionist elements a safe haven and political space in Canada,” he said.

Jaiswal remembered that in last June, Khalistani activists in Canada arranged a similar demonstration that included a float that depicted the killing of former prime minister Indira Gandhi. In Canada, posters depicting Indian diplomats and making threats of violence against them have been shown, he claimed.

Canadian officials have stated that such activities are covered by freedom of expression and that they cannot act as no laws have been broken in response to India's repeated calls for action against pro-Khalistan elements making threats against Indian diplomats or portraying Indian leaders negatively at public events.

Additionally, Indian officials have argued that when pro-Khalistan elements in the US and Australia complained about similar actions, those nations' authorities reacted more quickly.